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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

A new episode of DeVanity will be available this Thursday. Now is a great time to get caught up or watch the first two episodes again. Check out my reviews of the two part premiere by clicking on the links below. A link to the webseries is available and the bottom of the articles.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

General Hospital fan favorite Elizabeth Webber has been on the sudser for 16 years. However, despite the popularity of the character, it seems as if every time her story is about to move to the front burner, it fizzles out. Why is the she stuck in the perpetual state of the non-story story? I wanted to take a closer look at the character and share my thoughts for potential story lines.

Tainted Dreams has everything one would want in an online soap or any soap for that matter. The sudsy webseries is full of sex, scandal, mystery, and intrigue. The brainchild of Emmy-winning producer/director Sonia Blangiardo is all about the sexy outlandish happenings behind the cameras of the fictional New York soap Painted Dreams.

Not only does it include some of the genre’s favorite actors but it provides its audience with a nice tongue in cheek peek at what it may or may not be like on the set of a soap opera. The concept of a soap about a soap works because of the knowledgeable writing and acting. Blangiardo’s creation doesn’t over indulge in pretense. While there are several nods to the real soap industry, Blangiardo clearly understands that the soap fans are her target audience.

The third and final season of the web series The Inn launches on October 7 and I couldn’t be more exited. After binge watching during a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was instantly hooked on the thriller. Unlike many horror series, The Innrelies on good storytelling rather than gore and special effects to create its spooky atmosphere. I highly recommend giving this series a view.

The series may already have two seasons but don’t worry about being able to get caught up. While the idea of watching multiple seasons may seem daunting, The Inn is structured for easy viewing. There are only a handful of episodes per season and each episode is around five minutes long. You can easily watch it all in one sitting.

Despite the length of the episodes, the story isn’t rushed. Secrets are revealed at a good pace keeping the audience intrigue as the mystery unfolds bit by bit. I was genuinely surprise by what was learned about the main character Jane (Crystal Chappell) as the story moved forward. The Inn begins with Jane’s car breaking down outside a small desolate town and she is forced to check into The Inn. In perfect Alfred Hitchcock like fashion, things are more sinister than they appear.

Besides The Inn, there is also Lola’s Coffee Shop which is owned by the no-nonsense Lola (Denise Alexander). (Fans of the web soap DeVanity will get a little treat the first time we see the coffee shop) Although Lola seems to have a good nature, it is apparent that she knows more about The Inn and its blind owner Teddy (Ray Proscia) than she lets on. At times she even seems a bit concerned for Jane. This concern doesn’t seem unwarranted as there is something definitely very off about Teddy.

Adding to Jane’s predicament, the local law enforcer Riggs (Chuck Sloan) doesn’t seem to like outsiders in his town and is instantly distrusting of her. He doesn’t believe her reasons for being there and he’s correct in his assumption that she is lying. At the end of Season 2, it’s not yet clear how much he knows or doesn’t know.

Jane’s reality begins to blur between what is real and what is not as strange occurrence continue to happen. With continued appearances from a creepy little boy (Stuart Allen) and an even creeper man (Kyle David Pierce), one wonders how much of what is happening may be occurring inside Jane’s fragile mind. Is there truly something supernatural about The Inn or is it all in her head? My guess is a little bit of both.

The Inn also stars Mark Gantt as Jeffrey. I’m not going to tell you about Jeffrey. You’ll have to watch to find that out. Episodes of The Inn are available for viewing at theinnseries.com and on VoiceAmericaTV.

One Life to Live’sTodd Manning is one of my favorite soap opera character despite the fact that he is a horrible human being. Why does this character appeal to me? I wanted take a look at one of daytime most notorious villians and exam the popularity of the anti-hero archetype.